Workshop with nonprofit helps women better deal with anger

Group offers free counseling to angry women

Mariel Contreras, 22, of Germantown talks to Jo Ann Iduma during a JAA Foundation workshop at the Germantown Library.

Jo Ann Iduma understands the anger built up inside the young women she counsels. She's been there.

"I was molested and abused as a child," said Iduma, executive director of the JAA Foundation Inc., a nonprofit that aims to help women with anger issues. "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child and I understand these young ladies."

Five years ago, Iduma decided to take her experiences and teach young women how to deal with anger. "Helping young women deal with their anger was my calling," Iduma said. The young women who attend Iduma's Thursday evening workshops talk about family, education and men.

Iduma, 50, of Gaithersburg, holds her free workshops in a conference room at the Germantown Library.

Mariel Contreras and Ashleigh Roberson sought her counsel last week. Iduma asked why they were angry and discussed coping strategies.

Contreras, 22, of Germantown, spewed off three things that angered her. Talking about her brother, 15, sent her into a subtle rage.

"He's in a gang and every time he does something bad or gets in trouble, my mom always takes it out on me," Contreras said. "I know he can do better and sometimes I look at him and say, Why?'"

Contreras, who has a 4-year-old daughter, said she has had anger issues since she was a child. She often finds herself yelling and cursing at her mother and her daughter's father.

"I look forward to coming to coming to the workshops every Thursday because I get a lot off my chest," Contreras said. "Life is too short to be mad all the time."

Roberson, 21, of Gaithersburg introduced her to Iduma in late June.

Roberson had a black eye when she met Iduma in a supermarket in June. She had fought the night before with her boyfriend and male cousin.

It seemed to Roberson that Iduma was sent into her life for a reason.

"She was talking to my mom about how young women have issues with anger," Roberson said. "Everything she said I had gone through the night before."

Roberson said she still feels resentment toward her absent father. But the workshop has calmed her arguing with family and boyfriend.

"This workshop has helped me realize there are ways to handle things without arguing and fighting," Roberson said.

Leaving a lifestyle filled with traveling for one with caring for others has been fulfilling, Iduma said. For 12 years, Iduma said she worked as a car saleswoman and enjoyed the money she made.

"Having people control your emotions is never a good thing," Iduma said. "I know people who have wasted years being angry, and I am one of them."